Copper Dipper c. 1937

George V. Vezolles made this 'Copper Dipper' in a time now unknown using watercolor and graphite. Vezolles' mark-making feels straightforward. It's like he is trying to see the object in front of him as directly as possible, which is harder than it seems. There is an intimacy and simplicity here, a kind of quiet attention that lets the colors do a lot of the work. Look closely at the bowl of the dipper, that slightly wonky oval filled with a burst of oranges, reds, and browns, mimicking the molten metal it would hold. The artist builds up the texture with gentle strokes. You can see how the graphite gives form to the copper and the wood of the handle. The dipper almost vibrates against the bare paper. This makes me think of the still lives of Giorgio Morandi. Both artists find endless subtle beauty in humble, everyday objects, and show us something new about seeing.